Lambeth Palace Library and the Church of England Record Centre regularly embark on new projects and acquire and catalogue new material, from rare books and manuscripts to modern publications.  These posts provide a brief update on some of our latest acquisitions, projects and upcoming events, to keep you up-to-date with our most recent news.

New books!

Enjoy reading one (or more!) of our recently acquired new books. Highlights include:

• The Anglican communion at a crossroads: the crisis of a global church, by Christopher Craig Brittain and Andrew McKinnon (University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2018). More information available here.
• The book in Britain: a historical introduction, edited by Zachary Lesser; written by Daniel Allington, David Brewer, Stephen Colclough, Sian Echard, Zachary Lesser (Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2019). More information available here.
• Books and bookmen in early modern Britain: essays presented to James P. Carley, edited by James Willoughby and Jeremy Catto (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 2018). More information available here.
• The buildings of England: Sussex: West, by Elizabeth Williamson, Tim Hudson, Jeremy Musson and Ian Nairn (London: Yale University Press, 2019). More information and reviews available here.
• The Eusebian Canon Tables: ordering textual knowledge in late antiquity, by Matthew R. Crawford (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019). More information available here.
• A field guide to the English clergy: a compendium of diverse eccentrics, pirates, prelates and adventurers; all Anglican, some even practising, by Fergus Butler-Gallie (London: Oneworld, 2018). More information and reviews available here.
• Herbert of Bosham: a medieval polymath, edited by Michael Staunton (York: York Medieval Press, 2019). More information available here.
• A history of the Bible: the book and its faiths, by John Barton (London: Allen Lane, 2019). More information and reviews available here.
• In conversation: Rowan Williams and Greg Garrett (New York: Church Publishing, 2019). More information and reviews available here.
• The materials and techniques of medieval painting, by Daniel V. Thompson (New York: Dover Publications, 1956, 2018 printing). More information and reviews available here.
• Medieval Welsh pilgrimage, c1100-1500, by Kathryn Hurlock (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018). More information available here.
• Money and coinage in the Middle Ages, edited by Rory Naismith (Leiden: Brill, 2018). More information available here.
• Priests and their books in late Anglo-Saxon England, by Gerald P. Dyson (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2019).  More information available here.
• The Professor and the Parson: A story of desire, deceit and defrocking, by Adam Sisman (London: Profile Books, 2019). More information and reviews available here.
• The Renaissance reform of the book and Britain: the English Quattrocento, by David Rundle (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017). More information available here.
• Queenship at the Renaissance courts of Britain: Catherine of Aragon and Margaret Tudor, 1503-1533, by Michelle L. Beer (London: Royal Historical Society, 2018). More information available here.
• The role of the scroll: an illustrated introduction to scrolls in the Middle Ages, by Thomas Forrest Kelly ( New York : W.W. Norton & Company, 2019). More information and reviews available here.
• Songs of Praise: the nation’s favourite churches, by Andrew Barr (Oxford: Lion, 2006). More information and reviews available here.
• The textual culture of English Protestant dissent 1720-1800, by Tessa Whitehouse (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015). More information available here.
• Thomas Cromwell: a life, by Diarmaid MacCulloch (London: Allen Lane, 2018).  More information and reviews available here.
• Two Huguenot brothers: letters of Andrew and James Coltée Ducarel 1732-1773, edited by Gereard de Lisle and Robin Myers (London: The Garendon Press, 2019). More information available here.
• A vicar’s wife in Oxford, 1938-1943: the diary of Madge Martin, edited by Patricia and Robert Malcolmson (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2018). More information and reviews available here.

 

Magazines and journals

Lambeth Palace Library also collects a variety of magazines and journals. You are very welcome to visit the Reading Room to consult these too. Some of our recently received titles include:
Crucible: the journal of Christian social ethics
Churchman
Faith and worship
The Friends Quarterly
Historic Churches
Journal of Anglican Studies
Journal of Ecclesiastical History
Journal of Paper Conservation
The Library: Transactions of The Bibliographical Society
Privacy & Data Protection

We also receive the following papers and magazines weekly:

The Church of England Newspaper
Church Times
The Tablet
TLS (The Times Literary Supplement)

 

Please note that from October 2019 Lambeth Palace Library will be closed on Fridays. This is to give the staff time to prepare the collections for the move to the new library building. Opening hours will be 10am to 5pm on Tuesday and Wednesday, and 10am to 7.30 pm on Thursday.

Upcoming events

‘Wanting more and wanting better’

Bishop Richard Harries
Monday 23 September, 5pm (entrance not before 4:30pm)

The usual assumption is that Christianity disapproves of us wanting things. Thomas Traherne takes a very different line, saying we don’t want enough. But when we have moved out of innocent bliss into a world of sin and suffering, how do we manage this wanting?

In association with the Traherne Society. All are welcome, but those wishing to attend should book a free ticket at  https://richardharrieslambeth.eventbrite.co.uk or email melissa.harrison@churchofengland.org not later than Tuesday 17 September.

‘William Holcot’s books: recantation and repentance in Reformation England’

Professor John Craig (Simon Fraser University)
Tuesday 26 November, 5:15pm (entrance not before 4:45pm)

William Holcot was a mid-Tudor gentleman, bibliophile and lay reader in the early Elizabethan church, whose experience of recantation during the reign of Queen Mary powerfully shaped his thoughts and actions during the Elizabethan period. Very little survives from Holcot’s life but the few pieces that do enrich our understanding of a particular stream of Elizabethan Protestantism. This event will be followed by a drinks reception.

In association with the University of London seminar on the Religious History of Britain 1500-1800.  All are welcome, but those wishing to attend should book a free ticket at https://johncraiglambeth.eventbrite.co.uk, or email melissa.harrison@churchofengland.org not later than Friday 22 November.

Christmas reception for the Friends of Lambeth Palace Library and their guests

Wednesday 4 December, 6pm (admittance from 5:30pm)

Christmas reception held in the State Drawing Room in Lambeth Palace.

Tickets £10 per head, to include wine and mince pies. To book, please send names in advance to Melissa Harrison, melissa.harrison@churchofengland.org or telephone 020 7898 1400, not later than Friday 22 November.

 

New Library update

Work on the new library is progressing well and the programme remains on track to complete in April 2020.

From the street, the completed brickwork for the east and west wings are now clearly visible. Scaffold only remains in place to the central tower which will start to be dismantled from October 2019.

Internally, considerable progress has been made. The archive spaces are nearing completion with the final shelving units arriving at the start of the month ready for installation.

The spaces which will be occupied by the staff have also progressed well. Finishes to the floors, ceilings and walls have started over the last period and will continue to the end of the project. Joinery is being put into the Reading Room, so we are now starting to see the wood panelling.

Externally, an exciting phase will start in the next quarter when the landscaping works for the Palace gardens commence. This will include extensive planting and a wetland habitat. The pond wall will be set out this week, and the excavations of the base of the pond started.

 

Lambeth Local History Fair

The Library was thrilled to have a stall at the Lambeth Local History Fair, a now annual event that kicks off Lambeth Heritage Festival, which runs throughout September.  This year the Fair was held in Brixton Tate Libary on Saturday 7th September, and saw dozens of local societies and local history organisations come together to showcase their services, alongside a programme of illustrated talks, tours and walks.  Library staff were pleased to talk to a large number of visitors and let them know how the Library and Record Centre could be useful to their research.

The full programme for the Lambeth Heritage Festival 2019 can be found here.

 

Archive news

Material catalogued and now made available in recent months has included:

• Papers of the English Hymnal Company (ref: EHC), 1905-2000.
• Correspondence regarding the Book of Common Prayer (1928), mainly between Lambeth Palace and Colonel H M Oldham (ref: MS 5149), 1926-1959.
• Letters and reports to Cyril Eastaugh, Bishop of Peterborough on South Africa (ref: MS 5150), 1965.

The Library’s collections have also been used in a range of recent publications and resources including:

• https://canterburypress.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9781786221834/cowley-fathers
• Henson diaries https://henson.durham.ac.uk
• Salvation army book https://www.salvationarmy.org/ihq/news/inf230719

Further content has been added to the Library’s public image management system: http://images.lambethpalacelibrary.org.uk/luna/servlet, including a range of manuscripts (MS 1, MS 284, MS 774, MS 1143, MS 1502, MS 2022, MS 5082) and material from Sion College (Sion L40.2/E25, Sion L40.2/E42, Sion L40.2/E44, Sion L40.2/L2 and Sion L40.2/L7).

In the Conservation studio

Over 30,000 items have been boxed, with a big focus now on protecting CERC collections for the move next year. We are currently working through the procurement process for potential movers and, once awarded, the process of preparing the day-by-day scheduling of the move will begin.  In addition, the team are preparing for the studio move, as well as helping with new library requirements.
Only 217 days until we get the keys to the new building!

Don’t forget – you can also keep up-to-date with our news and events, and enjoy glimpses of some of the treasures in our collections, by following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.